Under the Light of the Moon
by Spender Loks
Summary: Yue has a brief reprieve before she becomes the moon spirit.


A/N: I write nothing but oneshots, haha. This one broke the thousand-word barrier, though, so I suppose I'm making progress! Onward! Hi-ho, Silver!

I hope that you enjoy this piece. If you do, leave a note! Reviews give me that warm, fuzzy feeling otherwise achievable only through certain illegal substances!

TTFN ~Spender

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It was bright. Very bright. Yue squinted against the glare, trying to shadow her eyes with a gloved hand as she sat up. Her body, garbed in the parka she had been wearing, slowly came back into her view as her eyes adjusted to the light. She was surrounded by...white? All she saw was white...she could see no walls, or any other sort of distinguishing feature, no ornaments, nothing. It was just a plain white plane that stretched as far as she could see.

"Hello."

Yue jumped at the deep, smooth voice. Four figures had appeared out of nowhere and formed a circle of about twenty yards with Yue at its center. Each man was clad in long robes, had skin as dark as night—a rich ebony color—and sported long, thick, white dreadlocks pulled away from his face into a poytail, and a great, braided beard that stretched down to his navel. However, every robe was a different color: The man behind her had varying shades of red, the one to her left wore orange and yellow (it reminded her of the clothes that Aang wore, actually), the man to her right had a robe of earth tones—greens and browns, and the one who had greeted her wore solid blue with white trim and stood in front of her.

Yue scolded herself as she realized that she hadn't acknowledged the man's greeting. Sixteen years in the courts of her people and she forgets the most basic of manners when she passes to the spirit world, or wherever this is—ridiculous! "Hello. I am Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe." She addressed the blue-clad man who had originally spoken. "May I ask who you are?"

"You may call us Brom." Yue jumped as the red-robed man answered her rather than the blue-robed one.

"What do you mean, 'us'?" Yue asked, a hint of curiosity sneaking its way into her tone. "There are four of you here."

"Yes, but we are one." The orange man smiled.

"We may share four different bodies, but we have but one mind and one spirit." It was the brown man that finished the thought, as if to prove their point.

A silence crept its way into the conversation. Yue continued to examine each man. _How odd, _she thought_, to have four bodies—that'd be like having four sets of arms. Strange, indeed._

"That is not your only question." The orange man ended the silence bluntly, and he smiled encouragingly.

"No, no." Yue shook out of her reverie and bowed her head slightly, placing a hand to her chest. "Forgive my manners. I am a little disgruntled, I suppose. This place is foreign to me." When Brom did not answer her implied question, she clarified, "Where _am_ I, exactly? Is this the Spirit World? I need to be in the Spirit World, I think."

"Not quite." It was the blue man speaking this time. "This is neither the Spirit World nor is it your world. It is a bit...higher than those, shall we say?"

"What do you mean, 'higher'?"

"Your worlds were born from this one." The red man spoke again. "This is like the mountain spring of a river, if your worlds are a lake in the foothills."

"So it's called the Spring?"

"It has no name, but you may call it whatever you wish." The brown man shrugged. They had no order or pattern to the switching, and the constant changes kept Yue off-balance.

"Why is it so...empty?"

All four men gave a bellowing, melodious laugh. "It is far from empty, Yue. You have but to wish it and it will appear. This place holds everything that was, is, and will be in one place." The red man spoke this time.

"So, like, if I wanted—"

"A meal?" A steaming bowl of sea-prune soup blinked into existence almost before the blue man finished his question.

"Or how about a hot bath? You look weary." A steaming bathtub appeared within arm's reach of Yue. "Oh, forgive me." The orange man bowed and smiled. "I forget your privacy." Yue chuckled as a curtain suddenly surrounded her and the tub, shielding her completely from the four figures.

"No, thank you, I'm fine." All of the objects disappeared instantly. Yue continued, "But I want to know—how did I get...here? To the Spring, I mean."

"You came to this place by way of virtue, I suppose." The blue man shrugged. "The spirits wanted to honor your sacrifice. It is not often that someone so young acts so selflessly. Such character does not go unnoticed."

"So the plan worked? I will become the moon spirit?"

All four of Brom's bodies nodded, but only the brown man spoke. "You will become the spirit after you leave here. Any aspect of your corporeal existence will disappear."

Due to the man's low, soothing voice, the last part almost didn't sound creepy. "Am I here for a reason?"

"To enjoy yourself." The orange man spread his arms. "Here, you have everything you could ever dream of but a thought away."

"Shouldn't I be in the Spirit World, though? You know, becoming the moon spirit and all? I thought that was the whole reason I died, anyway."

"Time is not a concern." The red man shook his head patiently. "Here, the scope of things is different. What is centuries in your world is but a moment in this place. Even now—"

An image flittered into Yue's mind of the Spirit Oasis. She was holding a hand to the glowing, motionless koi in the elderly Fire Nation man's cradled palms, and Katara was kneeled behind him, her cerulean eyes brimming with hope. And Sokka—oh, Sokka! It wrenched at her heart to see him there, to see the sadness in his eyes, his right hand still outstretched from where she had pulled hers away...

"—things are essentially unchanged in your world." The red man finished.

"Can I go back?"

"You cannot return completely, no, but you can visit that world as a spirit—briefly." The brown man answered her.

"I wish to do that."

"And leave so soon? You have no desires to fulfill here?" The red man's tone wasn't accusatory, or even incredulous. It was flat, merely asking for an answer.

"Well.." Yue began. "There is one thing..."

"You have but to wish for it." All four men spoke in unison in the same voice, giving it a warm, layered, and comforting, yet slightly eerie sound.

A dress, mounted on a pole, appeared next to Yue. It was long, but it was simple—nothing but a strapless white ensemble with a light purple cinch, overly long, loose sleeves, and a few shawls. Yue smiled happily when she looked at it—it was exactly as she had always pictured.

"An interesting choice," The blue man commented. "I presume you will want to change?"

"Yes, please," answered Yue and another curtain encircled her.

Yue willed the curtain away when she was done changing into the dress. "Ah, this is perfect," she sighed as she admired the way the sleeves hung off of her arms.

"Are you sure that is all you desire?" the blue man spoke again.

"Yes, it is. I am ready to go now."

"As you wish." Again, it was the blue man! Yue thought that made three in a row now. "You will go back to your world when you leave here. You will find yourself back in the Spirit Oasis, in Tui's old body. You will have only a few moments to bid farewell to your companions before your consciousness ascends to become the moon. Do you have any other questions?"

"Yes, actually, I do. You never answered my question before, you just gave me your name. Who are you, Brom?"

"I am the creator." Each figure spoke only one word of the sentence, beginning with the blue man, then the orange, then the brown, and lastly the red, who paused and then continued, "Any other questions?"

"Will I ever see you again?"

Four layers of that sweet laughter rang in Yue's ears. "No. No you will not. Goodbye."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She was gone. Just like that. One moment she was here, she was holding his hand, and the next she was gone. Sokka would have cried, but he felt numb at this point. He hugged her motionless body to his, then it began to disappear, as if the spirits were mocking him, stripping him of her piece by piece.

Zuko's uncle and Katara watched in wonder as Yue began to fade away, until Sokka was left cradling nothing but air. When he realized he wasn't holding anything anymore, he straightened up and saw sympathy etched deeply into the faces of his companions.

Suddenly, the moon fish began to glow! Zuko's uncle leaned forward and slipped the koi back into the waters of the oasis. Thankfully, against all odds, it began to swim again. The small victory gave no solace to Sokka, who remained crouched at the edge of the glowing pool.

A specter slowly coalesced above the waters, and Sokka raised his gaze—was that...could it be...

"Goodbye, Sokka." Yue's heavenly voice reverberated throughout the clearing. Her expression was a mixture of love, sympathy, and apology as she leaned forward. "I'll _always_ be with you." She brushed his cheek with a hand and kissed him, and Sokka caressed her cheek and kissed her back.

Then she was gone again, and Sokka was left with nothing in his hands once again, and one revelation that bounced energetically around his mind:

_She was wearing a wedding dress..._

Seconds later, the moon's glow returned to the darkest night.


End file.
